The Aporia · Nuclear jingoism

Nuclear jingoism

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Janjua, D. R. W. (2026, October 30). Nuclear jingoism. Dawn. https://www.dawn.com/news/2040898/nuclear-jingoism

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Quick Summary

This article critiques India's approach to nuclear and missile technology as being reckless and disregarding international protocols, particularly in relation to its May 2025 Operation Marka-i-Haq involving BrahMos cruise missiles. It highlights India’s vertical proliferation of nuclear weapons despite agreements on pre-notification and points out that India has used the civil nuclear deal with the USA to keep eight reactors outside International Atomic Energy Agency oversight. The piece argues that this exceptionalism enables India's aggressive military strategies while Pakistan responds with its own full-spectrum deterrence measures.

Written by AI on 2026-11-01, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In May 2025, during Operation Marka-i-Haq, India fired dual-use BrahMos cruise missiles with conventional payloads without considering how Pakistani air defenses might interpret them as a nuclear attack. This incident, along with India's testing of the Agni V MIRV-capable missile in 2024 without adhering to the required 72-hour pre-notification protocol, has been highlighted by Pakistan’s Foreign Office as evidence of Indian disregard for international norms.

India continues to develop its nuclear and missile technology while benefiting from exceptions like membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the Missile Technology Control Regime, despite not complying with full oversight by the IAEA. In particular, India negotiated a civil nuclear deal that allows eight reactors to operate outside of IAEA scrutiny; these pressurised heavy water reactors produce more fissile material than they consume, potentially aiding in military applications.

These actions have raised concerns among Pakistan and other nations about India's commitment to non-proliferation agreements.

Written for “Nuclear Jingoism” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

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INDIA’S nuclear jingoism was on ample display during Operation Marka-i-Haq in May 2025 when it fired dual-use BrahMos cruise missiles with conventional payload, unmindful of the fact that the dangerous caper could have been misconstrued by Pakistani air defenders as a nuclear attack.

left criticizes India's actions as reckless and potentially provocative
Despite an agreement on pre-notification of flight testing of ballistic missiles, the Indians, while testing the Agni V MIRV-capable missile, have shown a blithe disregard for established pre-notification protocols that mandate a 72-hour pre-test notification

left accuses India of ignoring international agreements
While the Indians keep up an implacable momentum of vertical proliferation of nuclear and missile technology, the world indulges them through exceptionalism enshrined in the nuclear waiver for the Nuclear Suppliers Group and membership of the Missile Technology Control Regime.

left criticizes international support for India's nuclear programs
These pressurised heavy water reactors consume less nuclear fuel than they produce, which can be harvested for strategic military purposes.

left suggests misuse of civilian nuclear technology for military purposes
It should be remembered that it was the Indians who introduced the nuclear arms race in the subcontinent because of their grandiose big-power pretensions. Their nuclear explosions in 1974 and 1998 forced Pakistan to follow suit out of its security compulsions.

left blames India for initiating a dangerous arms race
Pakistan relies on its full-spectrum deterrence, keeping strategic nuclear ambiguity for greater liberty of action to deny India the space for conventional conflict.

left supports Pakistan's defensive strategy against India

Reading Leans strongly left (beta estimate) Confidence high

Leaning: leans strongly left for article 116479 (high confidence, 6 verified quotes) · logged 2026-11-01

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Who wrote this

Dr Raashid Wali Janjua

1 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 INDIA’S nuclear jingoism was on ample display during Operation Marka-i-Haq in May 2025 when it fired dual-use BrahMos cruise missiles with conventional payload, unmindful of the fact that the dangerous caper could have been misconstrued by Pakistani air defenders as a nuclear attack.

2026-10-30 · assertive framing · Nuclear jingoism

The only article under this byline in the corpus.

Topics

IAEA INDIA Indians Operation Marka-i-Haq Pakistan

Subjects

Pakistan GPE · 7× INDIA GPE · 6× Indians NORP · 6× Indian NORP · 4× IAEA ORG · 2× Foreign Office ORG · 1× Pakistani NORP · 1× USA GPE · 1× the Missile Technology Control Regime ORG · 1× the Nuclear Suppliers Group ORG · 1×

Narrative

Despite an agreement on pre-notification of flight testing of ballistic missiles, the Indians, while testing the Agni V MIRV-capable missile, have shown a blithe disregard for established pre-notification protocols that mandate a 72-hour pre-test notification, a fact pointed out by Pakistan’s Foreign Office in 2024.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-01

2026-11-01 · Dawn

Nuclear jingoism · assertive framing

Claims (24 extracted, 1 hedged)

INDIA’S nuclear jingoism was on ample display during Operation Marka-i-Haq in May 2025 when it fired dual-use BrahMos cruise missiles with conventional payload, unmindful of the fact that the dangerous caper could have been misconstrued by Pakistani air defenders as a nuclear attack. uncertain

caper → fire → attack

that → test → 2024

While the Indians keep up an implacable momentum of vertical proliferation of nuclear and missile technology, the world indulges them through exceptionalism enshrined in the nuclear waiver for the Nuclear Suppliers Group and membership of the Missile Technology Control Regime. asserted

world → keep → Regime

The Indians have slyly wangled the concession from the USA and IAEA in the civil nuclear deal to keep eight reactors out of IAEA oversight. asserted

Indians → wangle → oversight

These pressurised heavy water reactors consume less nuclear fuel than they produce, which can be harvested for strategic military purposes. asserted

which → consume → purposes

It should be remembered that it was the Indians who introduced the nuclear arms race in the subcontinent because of their grandiose big-power pretensions. asserted

who → remember → pretensions

Their nuclear explosions in 1974 and 1998 forced Pakistan to follow suit out of its security compulsions. asserted

explosions → force → compulsions

The world indulges India through nuclear exceptionalism. asserted

world → indulge → exceptionalism

The Indian nuclear security architecture was provided conceptual ballast by Gen K. Sunderji and Krishna Subramanyam in the 1980s, when they came up with the notion of no-first use of nuclear weapons against a non-nuclear nation, with a caveat of making an exception for biological and chemical attacks. asserted

they → provide → attacks

However, India kept developing its conventional forces, especially the armoured and mechanised component, as per the Sunderji doctrine, aimed at tearing Pakistan asunder. asserted

India → keep → Pakistan

On the geopolitical level the Indians have acquiesced to the status of a regional surrogate to accommodate balancing needs of the US vis-a-vis a rising global competitor, China. asserted

Indians → acquiesce → competitor

While enjoying nuclear exceptionalism the Indians went on a shopping spree for nuclear technology as well as the conventional hardware to operationalise the military strategy that sought an elusive space for conventional wars under the nuclear overhang. asserted

that → enjoy → overhang

The operational manifestation of these military ambitions was a slew of concepts starting with Cold Start and graduating to proactive operations. asserted

manifestation → start → operations

The latest manifestation of those concepts is the Dynamic Response Strategy that is based on rapidly deployable all-arms-based integrated battle groups and multidomain-enabled terrain-customised brigade-sized groups called Rudra Brigades. asserted

that → base → groups

Pakistan relies on its full-spectrum deterrence, keeping strategic nuclear ambiguity for greater liberty of action to deny India the space for conventional conflict. asserted

Pakistan → rely → conflict

While India deploys non-state actors to keep Pakistan destabilised through terrorism, it cleverly conflates Pakistan’s principled support to the victims of Indian state repression in Occupied Kashmir, a UNSC-recognised dispute, with militancy. asserted

it → deploy → militancy

It has also withdrawn from its international law commitments by illegally holding the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance and imperilling the food security of Pakistan. asserted

It → withdraw → Pakistan

India under the BJP and RSS sway has adopted a foreign policy based upon the antiquated notion of ‘Akhand Bharat’ that covets the territories of neighbours based on historical myths. asserted

that → adopt → myths

The inflammatory statement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Barmer, Rajasthan, during an election rally that “Indian nukes are not kept for Diwali” indicates a bellicose mindset. asserted

nukes → keep → mindset

It is against the backdrop of the above facts that the notions of nuclear deterrence in the subcontinent have to be understood. asserted

notions → have → subcontinent

Since the stability of nuclear deterrence is based upon nuclear dialectics between two rational actors, Indian irrationality adds dangerous instability to the nuclear equation. asserted

irrationality → base → equation

The deployment of canisterised ground-based ready-to-use nuclear missiles and the submarine-launched nuclear ballistic missiles point to an aggressive nuclear intent when viewed in the context of Indo-Pak distrust and irrationality of the ideologically driven BJP leadership. asserted

deployment → base → leadership

The well-known military historian Martin Van Creveld had coined a term for wars in the nuclear era: “Non-trinitarian”, where, unlike Clausewitz’s trinitarian wars, the only political objective would be deterring and not winning the wars. asserted

objective → know → wars

Whether India has strengthened or reduced its strategic deterrence by fielding shallow-range submarine-based missiles is a point to ponder by Indian nuclear strategists. asserted

strengthened → strengthen → strategists